China's trade surplus jumps to $11.4bn

After the country reported a rare trade deficit for the start of this year, China has showed a strong rebound for April but it is likely to fuel US calls to revalue its currency

US vice president Joe Biden opens the US-China talks in Washington. News of China's large trade surplus is likely to increase pressure from the Americans to relax currency controls and allow greater access to overseas firms. Photograph: Michael Reynolds/EPA

China reported an unexpectedly large April trade surplus, in an announcement that is likely to fuel US pressure over currency controls and market access as American and Chinese officials hold high-level talks in Washington.

China's global trade surplus widened to $11.4bn (£7bn) as import growth fell amid government efforts to cool an overheated economy and exports rose by nearly 30%, data showed on Tuesday. The gap exceeded forecasts of $5bn to $10bn and was a strong rebound after China reported a rare trade deficit in the first quarter of this year.

China's trade gap has angered Washington and other trading partners who blame currency controls and other policies which they say are hampering trade and a global recovery.

At the start of two days of talks in Washington, US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner pressed China's envoys on Monday to allow the yuan to rise faster against the dollar. That might help to boost Chinese imports, narrowing the American trade surplus with China, which hit an all-time high last year.

China's commerce minister, Chen Deming, responded that yuan appreciation was being carried out in a "very healthy manner". He said the United States needed to change its policies on hi-tech sales and investment to spur American manufacturing.

Beijing has allowed the yuan to rise about 5% against the dollar since it promised more exchange rate flexibility last June but American manufacturers and others say the currency still is undervalued. The yuan's link to the dollar means it has declined against the euro as the American currency weakened over the past year.

China's April trade surplus with the United States rose 52% over a year ago to $15.1bn. The gap with the European Union, China's biggest trading partner, narrowed slightly to a still large $10.3bn.

Foreign manufacturers complain that China's trade surplus also is swelled by policies that hamper imports and encourage companies to shift production to China.

The country's global trade gap, up from just $1.7bn in April 2010, reflected a slowdown in demand for imports as Beijing tries to cool an economy that grew by 9.7% in the first three months of this year.

China's trade surplus usually narrows early in the year as manufacturers restock following the Christmas export rush. This year's decline was unusually large due to high prices for oil and other commodities.

China recorded a trade deficit for the first three months of 2011 and a surplus of just $140m for March.

Still, analysts expect China to show a global trade surplus for the year of $160bn to $200bn. Last year, China ran a trade surplus of about $16bn a month.